Hieam flint heney



(No Model.) 2 Sheets- -Sheet 1. H. P. HENRY.

FOLDING CHAIR. No. 380,484. Patented Apr. '3, 1888.

WITNESSES INVENTOR (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. P. HENRY.

. FOLDING GHAIR. v

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ATTORNEYS.

Un'rrnn STATES PATENI rricn,

HIRAM FLINT HENRY, OF GOWANDA, NEW Yonx.

FOLDING CHAIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 380,484, dated April 3, 1888.

Application filed June 29, 1587. Serial No. 242.878.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HIRAM FLINT HENRY, of Gowanda, in the county of Cattaraugus and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Folding Chairs, of Y which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The objects of my invention are first, to meet the existing demand for a light, strong, and comparatively inexpensive chair capable of being compactly folded into an absolutely flat shape; second, to provide said chair with a rigid and inflexible seat as distinguished from those constructed of canvas, carpet, or other flexible textile fabrics; third, to provide said chair with a rigid and inflexible back which with said seat contributes to the comfort and safety of the sitter; fourth, to provide said back with a rigid and inflexible back-rest as distinguished from those constructed of canvas, carpet, or other flexible textile fabrics, and,fifth, to so arrange said back in connection with the body of the chair that when the latter is folded the back will embrace the legs and seatof the chair on all sides like a frame without adding to the thickness of the folded chair, enabling a greater number of said chairs to be packed for transportation or storage in a given space than is possible with any of the existing folding chairs having flexible textile seats and back-rests.

For a better understanding of my present invention, reference is made to a former patent granted to me upon a folding stool, said patent being numbered 362,379, and dated the 3d day of May, 1887.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the chair when in position of use. Fig. 2 is a plan viewof the under side of the chair when closed. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the chair, taken on the linearxin Fig. 2. Fig. at is a central longitudinal section of the seat, taken on the line g g; in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the chair folded and closed. Fig. 6 is a perspective View of a series of said chairs arranged to form a folding settee, and Fig. 7 is a similar view of the same folded and closed.

(No model.)

The body of the chair is in the main constructed similarly to the stool illustrated and described in my aforesaid former patentthat is to say, the outer and inner legs, AB, are pivoted together off the center at a, the seat 0 is pivoted to the outer legs off the center at c, the tops of the inner legs are connected by a' crossrod, 21, the seat 0 is provided with a rib, c, beneath its outer edge, said seat is reduced in thickness at its sides at c", and the inner sides of the inner legs are reduced in thickness at b. In connection with said seat I may use the bail shown and described in my aforesaid former patent, forming an indentation near its outer end to receive the cross-rod connecting the upper ends of the inner legs; or I may form beneath said seat, adjacent to its rib, a groove or channel, 0 and centrally of the inner side of said rib form a recess, 0 and centrally beneath said seat secure in any proper manner a wood or metal spring finger-piece, 0", adapted to have vertical play at its free end in the recess in said rib, as illustrated in the drawings accompanying this specification.

I prefer to construct the seat 0 of wood or metal, either solidor perforated, thus affording a rigid and inflexible support to the occupant of the chair, and providing a water-proof seat for outdoor use, as distinguished from seats constructed of canvas, carpet, and other flexible materials which cannot be exposed to the influence of moisture without certain injury and ultimately complete ruin, and which have a tendency to sag and part their fibers after extended use, thus not only becoming unsightly, but causing discomfort and insecurity to the sitter.

The back D of the chair is composed of inflexible wooden side pieces, (I, of equal length and thickness, connected by inflexible wooden cross-pieces cl and d, the cross-piece d being similar to the hack-rest of an ordinary rigid and inflexible chair. Said side pieces are pivoted at 01 to the outer legs of the chai r and below the seat. I provide that portion of the back between its upper cross-piece and the seat with interwoven ribbons of metal, splint, or cane, or perforated sheet metal, or other suitable material possessing no pronounced thickness, but stretched sufficiently strong and tight to afford a rest for the back of the sitter.

It will be observed that when the back of my chair is raised for use the lower ends of its side pieces project downward sufficiently to carry the cross-piece d against the back of theouter legs, rendering the back steady and inflexible and steadying the body of the chair.

Theside pieces of the back of my chair are of such a length and their pivotal point is at such a distance from the lower ends of the legs that when the chair is folded said back surrounds the legs and seat of the chair on all sides upon the principle ofa frame, and when folded laterally with the chair its cross-piece d and back-rest d respectively shut beyond the ends of the legs and the rear of the seat, and said back then occupies no more space than the thickness of the outer legs, as shown A in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

In arranging the chair for use the back is raised and carried backward so that its crosspiece abuts against the outer legs below the seat. The legs are then opened out, the seat rising at the same time, the crossrod connecting the under legs passes forward and stops against the rib at the front of the seat, and the chair is in the position shown in Fig. l of the drawings.

To fold the chair for transportation, storage, or temporary disuse, the legs are closed, the seat falls upon the inner legs, the back is drawn forward over and around the legs and seat, its back-rest shutting beyond the ends of the legs and its lower cross-piece shutting beyond the rear of the seat, and the chair is then in the position shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

The individual backs of a series of my improved chairs may be replaced by a frame of suitable length, having proper divisions, each adapted to embrace the seat and legs of a chair when folded laterally therewith, said frame being pivotally connected to said chairs, as in the case of the individual backs,whereby acomplete foldingsettee for use in public halls, opera-houses, &c., is provided comprising in dependent chairs for its occupants, each of which chairs may be unfolded and folded independent of the others, and the whole settee folded up flat and stored in a space not exceeding in thickness that of a single chair, as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The combination, with a folding stool constructed substantially as herein shown and described, of a back consisting of inflexible constructed substantially as herein shown and described, of a back consisting of inflexible side pieces and inflexible crosspieces respect- -ively connecting the extremities of said side pieces, said back having its side piece pivoted to the outer legs of the stool below the seat,

whereby when said back is folded laterally with the body of the stool its cross-pieces will respectively shut beyond the legs of the chair and the rear of the seat, substantially as herein set forth.

3. The combination, with a folding stool having its legs pivoted together off the center and having an inflexible seat pivoted off the center to and between the outer legs, of a back composed of inflexible side pieces connected at their respective extremities by inflexible cross-pieces and pivoted to the outer legs below the seat of the stool, between the pivot and upper ends of said legs, substantially as shown and described, for the purpose herein set forth.

4. The combination, with a series of folding stools constructed substantially as herein shown and described, of a back divided into a series of sections, each adapted to receive one of said stools, and the respective side pieces forming said sections being pivoted to the outer legs of said stools below their seats, substantially as shown and described, and for the purposes herein set forth.

5. The combination, with a stool having two pairs of legs, one pair adapted to fold within the other, and an inflexible seat pivoted to the outer legs, of a back composed of inflexible side pieces connected near their ends by inflexible cross-pieces, and said back being pivoted to the outer legs below said seat, whereby when the back is in use it is braced at its lower end against the rear of the outer legs and below the seat, and when the stool is folded said back surrounds the stool on all sides and lies in the same plane therewith, substantially as Vitnesses:

F. WV. HANAFORD, E. M. CLARK. 

